High Moon

By Aimee Easterling, Jenn Stark, B R Kingsolver and 5 more

Come howl at the moon with these all-new tales of wolves in the city!

 

This thrilling collection contains eight exclusive novellas by today's top urban-fantasy authors:

 

"Fox Hunt" by Aimee Easterling – Mai's life revolves around acting human and teaching fencing to middleschoolers. Then a student goes missing just as werewolves start breathing down her neck. Can she hunt the hunters without revealing her identity as a fox?

 

"Wereabouts Unknown" by Jenn Stark – Having strutted her way from cop to carny fortune teller to the newest, most fabulous member of a group of Tarot mystics, Nikki Dawes has the world in the palms of her bedazzle-gloved hands. But now a pack of displaced werewolves is relying on her to find the rest of their kind. Can she reunite those snarly, sexy beasts in time to win the war on magic?

 

"Elemental Witch" by B R Kingsolver – After a magical disaster puts Joanna's future in jeopardy, the Supernatural Council gives her a second chance at Midleton College. New friends, a hot wolf shifter, and a serene campus grow on her fast. Then some fool summons a demon. Can Joanna clean up the mess before the demon kills her friends?

 

"Dragon Tears" by Marina Finlayson – New wolf Nat Turner jumps at the chance to escape her controlling pack when she's offered a job as bodyguard to a powerful dragon. But her dream job becomes a nightmare when she realises she must also protect the magical gems known as dragon tears that contain his power. Because holy hell, does that man have a lot of enemies.

 

"Lunaticking" by Dale Ivan Smith – Sorcerer-Agent Elizabeth Marquez tracks illegal wolf-men manifestations. Shifter Chloe must find her kidnapped pack leader. Together, these two wielders of different magics must find the supernatural culprits behind both crimes, and stop a far greater one from happening.

 

"Prowl" by N. R. Hairston – Wereskunk Anise is constantly ducking werewolves and vampires intent upon harvesting her high-dollar skunk oil. Will alpha werewolf Brick really help, or is he just another poacher hunting her?

 

"Full Moon's Curse" by Jenn Windrow – Sometimes the cure is worse than the curse. Cursed by a witch on a power kick, Julia Monroe has twenty-four hours to kill the leader of the local coven. If she fails, she'll be forced to live as a wolf for the rest of her life. If she succeeds, she'll be excommunicated from her pack and her family.

 

"A Myth in Moonlight" by Becca Andre – Leena knows that mythical creatures don't exist – not in the modern magical world. But when the old werewolf myth proves to have some…bite, she must reexamine her beliefs to break an improbable curse before it runs wild in Cincinnati.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wetknee Books
• Release date: Sep 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201473808

Aimee Easterling

Aimee Easterling wasn't raised by wolves, but she did spend the first ten years of her life running wild in their habitat. Since then, she's backpacked across three continents, spent over a decade homesteading half a mile from the nearest road, and now unearths excitement amid fictional werewolf packs. Her USA Today bestselling books straddle the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance...because everyone deserves a pack, a mate, and an adventure. Download your free starter library when you sign up for her email list: www.aimeeeasterling.com/?page_id=12 Or dive into a new series. Recommended reading order: Wolf Rampant series (Shiftless is FREE) Alpha Underground series Wolf Legacy series Moon Marked series Moon Blind series Happy reading and welcome aboard!

Book preview

High Moon

High Moon

Aimee Easterling Jenn Stark B R Kingsolver Marina Finlayson Dale Ivan Smith N. R. Hairston Jenn Windrow Becca Andre

Wetknee Books

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

HIGH MOON

First edition. September 14, 2021.

Copyright © 2021 Aimee Easterling, Jenn Stark, B R Kingsolver, Marina Finlayson, Dale Ivan Smith, N. R. Hairston, Jenn Windrow, and Becca Andre.

Written by Aimee Easterling, Jenn Stark, B R Kingsolver, Marina Finlayson, Dale Ivan Smith, N. R. Hairston, Jenn Windrow, and Becca Andre.

Cover Design by: Heather Hamilton-Senter

Table of Contents

Come howl at the moon with these all-new tales of wolves in the city!

This thrilling collection contains eight exclusive novellas by today's top urban-fantasy authors:

Fox Hunt by Aimee Easterling – Mai's life revolves around acting human and teaching fencing to middleschoolers. Then a student goes missing just as werewolves start breathing down her neck. Can she hunt the hunters without revealing her identity as a fox?

Wereabouts Unknown by Jenn Stark – Having strutted her way from cop to carny fortune teller to the newest, most fabulous member of a group of Tarot mystics, Nikki Dawes has the world in the palms of her bedazzle-gloved hands. But now a pack of displaced werewolves is relying on her to find the rest of their kind. Can she reunite those snarly, sexy beasts in time to win the war on magic?

Elemental Witch by B R Kingsolver – After a magical disaster puts Joanna's future in jeopardy, the Supernatural Council gives her a second chance at Midleton College. New friends, a hot wolf shifter, and a serene campus grow on her fast. Then some fool summons a demon. Can Joanna clean up the mess before the demon kills her friends?

Dragon Tears by Marina Finlayson – New wolf Nat Turner jumps at the chance to escape her controlling pack when she’s offered a job as bodyguard to a powerful dragon. But her dream job becomes a nightmare when she realises she must also protect the magical gems known as dragon tears that contain his power. Because holy hell, does that man have a lot of enemies.

Lunaticking by Dale Ivan Smith – Sorcerer-Agent Elizabeth Marquez tracks illegal wolf-men manifestations. Shifter Chloe must find her kidnapped pack leader. Together, these two wielders of different magics must find the supernatural culprits behind both crimes, and stop a far greater one from happening.

Prowl by N. R. Hairston – Wereskunk Anise is constantly ducking werewolves and vampires intent upon harvesting her high-dollar skunk oil. Will alpha werewolf Brick really help, or is he just another poacher hunting her?

Full Moon's Curse by Jenn Windrow – Sometimes the cure is worse than the curse. Cursed by a witch on a power kick, Julia Monroe has twenty-four hours to kill the leader of the local coven. If she fails, she’ll be forced to live as a wolf for the rest of her life. If she succeeds, she’ll be excommunicated from her pack and her family.

A Myth in Moonlight by Becca Andre – Leena knows that mythical creatures don’t exist – not in the modern magical world. But when the old werewolf myth proves to have some…bite, she must reexamine her beliefs to break an improbable curse before it runs wild in Cincinnati.

Fox Hunt

Aimee Easterling

Chapter 1

A werewolf howl curled across the dappled shade sheltering musicians and concertgoers alike. I frowned and reassessed. No, that wasn’t a howl. Not in broad daylight in a city park full of smiling humans. The undulating tone had to be the result of one really badly tuned violin.

Still, I started counting heads anyway. First my ten-year-old sister Kira—half Japanese like me, and also the only other one in the crowd who wasn’t rich and white as Wonder Bread. Next, I moved to the students three years older who were paying top dollar for this summer enrichment opportunity. As long as all twenty were present and accounted for, there was no point in worrying about whether that sound had been more than a strange violin.

Stay away from wolves. Dad’s warning whispered in my memory as I continued eying students. Twelve, thirteen.... Drat. I was 100% certain I’d considered that towhead before. Someone must have switched places on me.

Meanwhile, one half of the inseparable Raven twin duo popped up to hover at my elbow. Ms. Fairchild? she started, ignoring the glares of audience members who would have preferred she remain seated. The stage was slightly elevated, but the rest of us were lounging—or, in Charlie’s case, standing—on blankets spread across the grass.

Which meant Charlie was now obstructing the view of approximately a dozen people arrayed behind us. A dozen people who were rustling and murmuring their dissatisfaction. Well, I’d fix that public-relations issue as soon as I finished my count.

Eighteen, nineteen....

Charlie’s next words filtered through the music just as I ran out of students. Jessie’s been in the bathroom an awfully long time.

Ah. So my math hadn’t been off after all. And the absence of a sister to finish Charlie’s sentences also explained why the curly-haired and snub-nosed teenager had taken so long to get to the point.

I lurched to my feet, ignoring the increased griping behind me. I’d check the bathroom, then....

I didn’t do any of that. Instead, I froze as the crescendo of percussion gave way to a momentary silence.

Silence from the orchestra, not silence from somewhere just outside the assemblage. There, an unmistakable howl barreled into the musical gap so obviously that it caught even my charges’ attention.

What was that? Kira asked, dark eyes widening. She abruptly looked every bit the younger tagalong...a tagalong aware of the secrets we both hid.

What? Charlie, less tuned in to sounds, scrunched up her freckled nose in confusion.

The... Kira met my gaze then trailed off.

A snooty woman behind us muttered something about children needing to be seen rather than heard. Ignoring her gripes, I donned my best teacher voice. It’s just a dog, I told my students. I’ll check on Jessie. The rest of you, stay put.

Charlie subsided but I knew my sister would be far less malleable even though she lacked the twin’s years. Sure enough, Kira met my gaze head-on, her mouth flattening until she looked like a small, female clone of our father. Dad had been tenacious to a fault. Had to be as a human raising two girls with magical abilities after our mother died.

Today, Kira’s tenacity seemed inclined to get us both killed. She was already halfway to her feet when she spat out: I want to see it.

I shook my head, hating to pull rank but having no other option. Teacher voice wouldn’t work here, but threats might. You promised not to be a hindrance. Do you want this to be the last summer session you attend?

Kira winced, and rightly so. If she didn’t follow me to work, her other option involved sitting around our tiny apartment with nothing other than a book to amuse her. Our computer was so slow you could barely use it to play solitaire. I couldn’t afford to pay for a second cell phone.

No wonder my sister subsided after one tense moment. I’ll keep count, she promised, squaring her slender shoulders. As if she thought it was no problem to put herself in charge of kids three years her senior.

Her senior, but more innocent of the dark nature of the shadow world. I nodded acceptance. Then I strode away toward the source of the howls.

Instinct told me to hurry. But my job required me to make a pitstop before I could deal with the larger issue of werewolves. I couldn’t leave a ten-year-old solely in charge of nineteen middle schoolers after all.

Instead, I stalked past the point where my nineteen-should-be-twenty girls ran into Tony’s seventeen boys. I pretended not to notice the PDA where the sexes came together, averting my eyes and continuing on to the math teacher who was as human as his charges.

Tony was an ultra-pale redhead who’d been known to burn in the middle of winter, but still he lounged with his face upturned toward July sunshine. His eyes were closed and a blissed-out smile sweetened his angular face.

Can you watch my girls for a few minutes? I murmured, ignoring the bawdy joke one of his students made in response to my ill-chosen words. I’d learned over the years that if I left any opening for innuendo, teenagers would run through the gap with cheerful abandon. The best response to such a misstep was to ignore, ignore, ignore.

Which was what my co-worker appeared to be doing to me. I would have been annoyed if I didn’t know that his math mind considered classical music an inspiring puzzle. Tony, I repeated, louder this time.

Quiet. The same woman who’d muttered at me earlier was angry enough now to call her chastisement down the row of fidgeting students.

Ignoring both the snarky woman and the raised hairs on the back of my neck, I waited for my counterpart to blink his way out of a musical reverie. Finally—

Problem, Mai? Tony asked at last. His volume, unlike mine, Charlie’s, and Kira’s, was concert appropriate. Still, the woman behind us huffed yet again.

And Tony turned clear blue eyes away from me to assess the audience member in question. She was dressed to the nines, as if she’d expected plush velvet chairs in an air-conditioned concert hall rather than the chance to sprawl ourselves out beneath maple trees. And Tony’s words came out so smooth it took a moment for either of us to realize they represented a verbal slap.

Behaving appropriately for the space you find yourself in is a very difficult skill to master, isn’t it?

Leaving the overdressed woman to mull over the implications, Tony turned to face the next disrupter, the boy who’d made reference to my breasts. This time, my fellow teacher didn’t even need words to get his point across. Instead, he raised one eyebrow and waited until the kid dropped his gaze to the grass. Only then did he turn back to address me.

Sorry about that. You were saying?

Right. As amusing as it was to watch Tony deal with the unruly, I had more important issues on my mind. Jessie’s been in the bathroom quite a while. I need to check on her. Can you...?

Take care of your hooligans as well as my delinquents? Sure.

My co-worker’s quick acceptance was followed by a reassuring touch of three fingers to the back of my hand. Or was that gesture meant to be reassuring? I blinked, reassessing the way Tony’s gaze bored into mine, the way his pupils expanded despite the stark sunlight.

Tony wasn’t acting like a friend and colleague. He was acting like someone who wanted to take our relationship to a new level.

Unfortunately, I had far too much on my plate at the present moment to even consider dating. Problems like students with no interest in learning. Bills that stubbornly refused to pay themselves. A kid sister for whom I was the legal guardian...and who shared the same heritage that would make werewolves consider us prey.

Plus, Tony was so very, very human. There was no spark when his skin grazed mine.

Still, I thanked him. Smiled even though I didn’t feel like smiling. Managed not to flip off the woman fuming behind us as I momentarily obstructed the view of an entire row of audience members.

Only once I was out of the press and past a row of trees did I clench my fists and break into a run.

Chapter 2

Sliding my hand across the rough brick wall of the bathroom exterior, I paused to take in the rush of water in an endlessly running toilet. The squat, dark structure was just as ordinary as I remembered, making me doubt my own conclusions. Would werewolves really come here?

Still, my skin prickled as if a predator was watching. And my muscles tightened when Jessie didn’t answer my call.

I didn’t take that silence as definitive, however, despite the itch in my feet begging action. Instead, I swept through both the women’s stalls and the men’s stalls, straining my ears for a howl that failed to repeat itself. Equally telling was the other absence—any whiff of Jessie’s scent.

Alright. Now it was time to stop sleuthing and start acting. I slipped into one of the stalls to take advantage of the barest modicum of privacy, stripping out of my clothes then letting the magic werewolves lacked suffuse my entire body in one overwhelming wave.

Tingling, prickling. My body shimmered while a loop of magic squashed my clothing inside a newly created fanny pack. Because even though Kira’s and my heritage could be hazardous, it had fun benefits as well.

Benefits like creating a physical something out of nothing, then still having enough energy leftover to turn fox. Fast as sunlight flickering through tree leaves, I shifted into my alternate form.

Shaking dainty black paws, lack of shoes made the puddle of I-didn’t-want-to-imagine-what on the floor even more disgusting. The urge to lick myself rose in my gorge.

But I wasn’t an animal even if I looked like one. So I focused on Jessie’s absence while sidestepping puddles. Then I leapt to the top of the stall divider, slunk out the gap below the roof, and landed fox-silent in the bushes outside.

Sniffing the ground in an ever widening circle around the bathroom, my tail fluffed out even more than usual. Here at last, my sensitive animal nose had picked up signs of not one but several werewolves, the scent both like and unlike that of me and my sister. Equally furry but considerably wilder. Rougher. Less reminiscent of playful antics and more suffused with the hunger for blood.

Their presence, while daunting, wasn’t all that surprising. In the big picture, werewolves were far more common than fox shifters. Only, they didn’t come here. This city was on the edge of Atwood territory, far enough from the pack’s center of operations so anyone with the right to be present seldom passed through.

These wolves, I suspected, didn’t have the right to be present. So why were they invading territory that had seemed safe enough for an under-the-radar family of three foxes—whittled down to two when our mother died on Kira’s zeroeth birthday—to settle within?

The issue of why would have to wait. Because I caught the odiferous thread of Jessie’s strawberry shampoo at last and followed it away from the bathroom in an odd direction. Not toward the concert and not toward the nearest row of shops, the obvious location where a thirteen-year-old might play hooky.

Instead, she’d passed deeper into the trees, through a wilder part of the park where the understory wasn’t mowed and manicured. Thorns grabbed at my fur and triple layers of leaves dimmed afternoon into twilight. Here, predators might stalk without danger of being sighted...until, that is, they were ready to pounce.

I heard the result before I saw it. Not words but swords. The clang of metal against metal that had been music to my ears ever since my father let me pick up a practice weapon nearly as long as I was. That first sword had been a grounding in the human world, a way to grow a new identity after the only adult fox shifter I knew—my mother—had died.

Swords were my salvation.

Now, though, the harmony of swordplay turned harsh. Because scent promised Jessie was on the receiving end of the metallic clashes. And, having had the girl in class for one tripping-over-her-toes semester, I knew she couldn’t stand up against a serious fighter.

I didn’t bulldoze forward however. Instead, I stuck to the cover of undergrowth, padding a loop around the battle. A fox knew how to scout rather than rage in with sword raised.

And, as I poked my snout through a gap in the leaves, this didn’t appear to be the time for rage after all. Sure, Jessie’s cheeks were red with effort, sweat plastering her bangs against her forehead. Plus, she wasn’t wielding a practice sword but rather an edged weapon—and where had she come across that?

Still, this wasn’t so much a battle as a courtship. Swords slid past each other elegant as dancing. His blade grazed hers not to attack but to buoy her up.

The result should have been beautiful. Would have been too...if the participants hadn’t been a human girl and a bare-chested werewolf.

Jessie didn’t understand the danger, so her eyes were wide with attraction. Plump lips parted as if she hoped for a kiss.

And no wonder. Her opponent was handsome if you liked pretty boys with hair that swished back and forth across mahogany eyes with each sword stroke. I got the distinct impression the young man—nineteen maybe, or eighteen or twenty—hadn’t lost his shirt while shifting but had instead removed it to show off his ripped abs.

Clothes. Focusing on his lack of shirt made me realize that I’d shifted back to human form and now stood in the park buck naked save for my fanny pack. Unleashing the magic that had brought my jeans, shirt, and boots along with me, I quickly dressed while the human girl and the handsome werewolf continued to cross swords.

I intended to be ready in case their bout devolved into more than courtship. But, so far, the back and forth seemed innocent enough. Jessie tried to parry and instead lost her footing on wet leaves. That prompted her opponent to drop his sword and scoop her up to lie panting against his hard, bare chest.

You’re phenomenal, he lied.

Or maybe it wasn’t a lie. Maybe he was referring not to Jessie’s so-so swordsmanship but instead to the way she peered up at him as if he hung the moon.

I.... The girl was breathless, words stuttering nonsensically. You....

We, he replied, the faintest curve to his wide mouth either adorable or menacing depending on your perspective. His head dipped down, not toward her lips but toward the soft curve between shoulder and neck.

For my part, I summoned a cold trickle of magic, the same magic that had allowed me to shift earlier. All it took was a moment of focus, then my hand clenched down around a sword hilt that hadn’t existed a moment before.

After all, Jessie was my responsibility until parent-pickup hour. And the teenagers’ banter no longer appeared innocent in the least.

Not when this werewolf was about to bite my student’s neck and claim Jessie as his mate.

Even by human standards, their age difference was too great to be kosher. Add in the fact that Jessie had never even heard of werewolves....

If you can’t stay away from wolves, Dad had warned, strike first. They’re too dangerous to treat respectfully.

I’d never before met a werewolf, but if Dad considered them dangerous then I agreed with him. Now it was time to rage.

Chapter 3

Bare-chested Wannabe-Biter dropped Jessie on her butt the instant my sword flicked toward him. Proof that he hadn’t been lost in the same haze of pheromones and puppy love that consumed my student. Instead, he’d likely heard me approach. Smelled me just like I’d smelled him.

Perhaps assumed because I was female that I was irrelevant? You know what they say about assume—makes an ass of you and me.

The truism had me smiling as I lashed out, aiming for that broad target of exposed skin with my sword tip. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to make contact. Not when the pesky werewolf wasn’t even trying to move at human speed.

What’s going on? Jessie yelped as the werewolf slid sideways faster than her eyes could follow. He danced away from my sword as ably as I dodged student blows, my own fox-assisted eyes barely able to keep up.

Swooping down to retrieve his weapon, he came up behind me next in a manner that would have been frowned upon in fencing class. After all, stabbing someone in the back was far from polite.

We weren’t fencing however. We were brawling. And I knew how to fight dirty too.

So I let my sword drift out of lax fingers, mimicking Jessie who had frozen like a deer in the headlights. She was bamboozled by the speed with which her wannabe-lover had turned into a to-the-death fighter, and it didn’t take much effort to don her slack-jawed gape. I needed this werewolf to think I was confused about where he had disappeared to. Confused about what to do next.

Then, as a rush of air promised a blade was aiming for my unprotected spine...I dropped. Flat onto the ground, right foot sweeping up to hook around his legs and toss him off balance. Rolling, I landed on top of someone twice as large as I was, my weight insufficient to keep him in check.

He bucked and I struggled not to relinquish my grip on his shoulders. Our bodies tumbled sideways, away from my sword.

The werewolf, darn him, had accidentally gained an advantage he wasn’t even aware existed. Because my sword’s magic was part of my being. Distance seeped strength out of my muscles, an effect that would worsen quickly as the space between me and my magic grew.

But I wasn’t extending that separation. Instead, I glanced at Jessie to make sure the sword was out of her sightline. Then I sucked in a breath and called the weapon back, smiling as it thunked into my waiting palm.

The werewolf beneath me surged yet again, trying to dislodge my stranglehold. But this time my blade proved to be a more than adequate deterrent. Snug as a kitten, I nestled its edge just shy of cutting into the soft flesh beneath his skin.

Now, finally, he stilled.

What did you think you were doing? I demanded, pressing hard enough to make sure the werewolf knew I meant business.

He swallowed, or tried to. My sword prevented the bulge of his throat from traveling down and his eyes widened. One hand rose as if to stop me, then he reconsidered that course of action and went limp.

I’d won, but I didn’t let my opponent go. Not with Dad’s warnings echoing in my memory. Instead, I sawed until the faintest trickle of blood materialized beneath my blade. Well?

This time he answered, his voice a growl. She smells good.

It’s body wash. Jessie had found her feet and was now skittering in a circle around us. Strawberry Sensation. Isn’t it delicious?

She was missing the point of the werewolf’s declaration...which was probably a good thing since the reality made me shiver. Jessie smelled good to a randy werewolf because she’d showed up this morning in an outfit that didn’t fit the school clothing policy. I’d given her a used t-shirt out of my own gym locker rather than making her face the principal.

In other words, the randy wolf wasn’t talking about fake strawberries. He was talking about the residual scent of fur.

A scent of fur that would fade from Jessie but was impossible to wash off myself...and my little sister. The thought of Kira made my sword dig in deeper. The werewolf’s eyes bulged but Jessie was the one whose voice turned strangled.

Ms. Fairchild, Shane wasn’t going to hurt me! You need to let him go!

The girl didn’t comprehend the thinness of the ice she was stomping on, and I wasn’t about to clue her in to the supernatural bits. Still, she needed to come to terms with some fragment of the seriousness of the occasion. He was heading, I said, sticking to an explanation humans would be familiar with, toward statutory rape.

No! You don’t get it! Jessie’s babbling veered off into a dissertation on love and soul mates. Which was handy. The stars in her eyes would prevent her from seeing what was right in front of her nose.

So I let her talk while I lowered my voice to a register wolves could hear but humans couldn’t. Jessie is under my protection.

As I spoke, I turned the sword until the flat lay against my opponent’s skin. Pressing now wouldn’t risk permanent damage, but it would cut off his airflow. With wolves, Dad had informed me, you had to be firm if you wanted to be understood.

So I pressed. Hard.

Unfortunately, Jessie caught on before I got my point across. Ms. Fairchild! She clawed at my shoulders with soft human fingers. You’re hurting him!

I let her fight me for a slow count of three, then I released the pressure. Do we understand each other? I asked Shane, ignoring my student.

For a long moment, he lay there, sucking in great gasps of oxygen. Then he nodded once, very slowly, the tightness of his mouth suggesting he expected the sword to bite again.

When it didn’t, his head bobbing turned frantic. Yes, he answered before tacking on an honorific. Ma’am. I understand you.

Young wolves, unlike young humans, apparently knew how to accept when they’d been bested. Because Shane’s eyes stayed on the ground even as he tacked on a quiet question. May I leave now?

Go, I answered, ignoring Jessie’s huff of annoyance. Keeping my eyes trained on Shane, I waited as he collected both his sword and Jessie’s. The shifter didn’t so much as glance at my student before disappearing into the undergrowth.

Chapter 4

The issue wasn’t settled, but the rest of the concert went as smoothly as could be expected. One of Tony’s charges shook up a soft drink then opened it, squirting everyone within a twenty-foot radius with the sticky fluid. The snooty woman behind us got a dose to the face, which I really shouldn’t have laughed at but did.

Later, while filing out of the park, two of my girls somehow ended up knocking a very large drum off its stand. There was swearing aplenty as the musician chased after his instrument, catching it just before it rolled into traffic. But, afterwards, he was more polite than expected about the blunder. I attributed his forbearance to the way my skirt-wearing students rolled up their waistbands to bare the better part of their thighs.

So, par for the course when dealing with middle schoolers. Nobody dead, I observed as Tony, Kira, and I stood on the steps of the school watching the last parental car carry away the last day camper. My sister was glued to my side, which I hoped meant she’d take what I was soon going to tell her better than she usually might have.

No bones broken, Tony agreed, oblivious to the undercurrent between me and Kira. Definitely a good day.

His cheeks were mildly sunburnt, or maybe that glow to his skin had more to do with the way his hand was inching toward my fingers. Our skin connected and I flinched nearly as obviously as Shane had done.

Gotta go, I gulped. Kira needs a snack.

Mention of food sent my sister sprinting toward home and calories. I followed, glad of the excuse to leave without really saying goodbye.

Tony didn’t let the moment pass however. Instead, he called after us: I’ll drive you.

I waved a thanks but no thanks. Which didn’t stop him from taking yet another stab at it.

See you tomorrow?

I was already half a block away and I could have pretended not to hear him. But I liked Tony...just not in the way he apparently liked me.

So I turned around to walk backwards. See you tomorrow, I agreed.

Mr. Murphy wants to take you out on a date, Kira observed as she blew in the door of our apartment, shedding shoes, backpack, and water bottle in random locations she’d never remember when she wanted them again.

Following behind, I nudged belongings into their proper cubbies while evading Kira’s conversational gambit. He’s a nice guy. Then, before my sister could shift and start dancing on the countertops, I caught her in a one-armed hug. Hey, slow down for a minute. I need to talk to you.

Her back immediately tensed. "But I stayed put."

You were great, I agreed. That howl, however....

Was a wolf. Kira raised one eyebrow at my silence. You think I never heard you and Dad talking? Wolves are serious bad news. But I have a solution. We’ll chase it out of town!

I could just see her trying. Kira was like one of those chihuahuas who faced down a rottweiler, instigating a fight she was certain she’d win.

Unfortunately, the hypothetical rottweiler could swallow a chihuahua in one gulp, and a wolf could eat a fox just as easily. I’ll deal with it, I promised her. But you’re going to have to stay home for a few days until things are settled. It’s not safe to be out and about right now.

I waited for Kira’s sunny disposition to cloud. But she surprised me. Maybe she was growing up, or maybe she’d just been more spooked by the howl than she let on. Because she nodded. If you get me the gear you promised, I’ll stay put.

Of course Kira would jump at the opportunity to turn the thumbscrews about this week’s coveted acquisition. A pet-agility track would take up our entire living room...a space which doubled as my bedroom. It would also set my finances back so far that I might have to beg for an extension on the rent.

But if the purchase kept Kira busy running through in-apartment tunnels until the werewolf threat blew over, it would be well worth it. I squeezed shoulders that had loosened into their usual gangly suppleness and promised the moon to my only living family member.

It’s a deal.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought through the problem with pet stores when I left Kira stirring boxed macaroni into boiling water. Hadn’t considered that wolf shifters likely found the commercial establishments just as useful as fox shifters did.

After all, dental-health dog bones prove awfully useful when you don’t feel like going two-legged to brush your teeth. Or at least so Kira told me when she added them to my shopping list.

To cut a long story short, my wince at the price tag on dog-agility equipment turned into a full-on shudder when a whiff of fur carried toward me from the next aisle over. This wasn’t Shane, either, who I could have slapped down without breaking a sweat. Instead, the scent came from the same direction as two voices, both older and male.

Cooperation is key. The first speaker’s words were full of the same sort of heady dominance that had drawn Jessie toward Shane. But this was the more mature version. Deeper. More growly. I was struck with simultaneous urges to swoon and to run.

I did neither. Inside stores, air movement was governed by fans, so there was no danger of the wind shifting and revealing my presence. If I was cautious, I could sneak out before either of the werewolves knew I’d been present. So I selected the cheapest box from the display in front of me and started manhandling it into my cart.

The second voice still wasn’t Shane’s, but it had more in common with that teenager than the first voice did. Cooperation is key for you, maybe, the younger shifter complained. All I want is a neighborhood.

This city won’t go by neighborhoods. A footstep. A gasp. Deep Voice was doing something intimidating or painful. His voice lowered into a growl as he continued. After the fight, you’ll either be with me or against me. Think on that then show up at the Arena tomorrow by high moon.

The Arena. I winced. The werewolf’s reference to the under-the-radar venue where I fought in exchange for much-needed supplemental income slowed my attempt to push my cart without letting the wheels squeak. I was supposed to take part in a match tomorrow. The money I hoped to make was already spent in my mind.

Spent on the bulky box I was even now wheeling toward the checkout.

I couldn’t attend, however, if werewolves planned to use the match to duke out ownership of the city. This safe harbor was safe no longer. Kira and I would have to flee.

But flee to where? Every inch of land around us was owned by a wolf pack. Finding another unused territorial edge where I could make a living and Kira could get a quality education would take time while opening up additional dangers for my sister.

Would it be safer to hunker down and wait out the current intrusion? Hope the werewolves growling in the next aisle over tore each other to shreds and left no survivors to threaten Kira and myself?

I was deep in planning mode when a hand landed on my shoulder. I didn’t even have time to create a sword before I was spun around.

And who are you? asked the growly, deep-voiced werewolf who’d taken advantage of fan-assisted air patterns to sneak up behind my back.

Chapter 5

Lose your friend? I retorted, scanning what I could see of broad aisles jam-packed with over-priced pet toys. There was only one werewolf present. One werewolf with hair long enough to be curly and a muscle shirt outlining his better-than-human physique. He was ten times more handsome than Shane...if I ignored the acquisitive gleam in this werewolf’s eye.

Ignored that and the way he sidestepped my question. Holding out the same hand he’d used to halt my forward momentum, he graced me with a breathtaking smile. I’m Jackal.

Something about the force of his grin had me reciprocating before I thought better of it. I took the offered palm in mine then shivered as a tremor of attraction spun through me.

The response was as purely physical as the goosebumps that rose on my arms when I dove into the public pool every summer for the first time. Tony had been sweet yet elicited no chemistry. Jackal was the opposite—alpha hotness wrapped around deeply bad news.

So I didn’t offer my name. Instead, I released the handshake as quickly as I’d accepted it, sidestepping Jackal and pushing my cart forward. With no need to silence the squeaking, I was able to progress much faster this time.

Jackal, unfortunately, paced me step for step as he murmured slippery pleasantries. What a surprising treat to find in my city.

I didn’t glance sideways, but I could feel his eyes gliding across my body like acquisitive fingers. The sensation was approximately as welcome as a root canal.

Perhaps that’s why I let my tongue sharpen. "Your city? I wasn’t aware the Atwoods had started hiring carcass-eaters."

An abrupt tartness in the other shifter’s scent suggested my blow had landed dead center, but he didn’t address the dig about his name. The Atwoods aren’t doing anything with this city, he growled instead. Not while their alpha lies dying. I expect it to take months for the son to bring his pack to heel. By that time, everything around you will be mine.

Jackal was probably right about that, unfortunately. Territories didn’t last forever. A weakness in the center allowed neighbors or lone wolves to nibble away one edge at a time.

Still, the Atwoods’ trouble was none of my business. An ungreased wheel whined complaint as I gave the cart another heave.

Jackal’s fist on the wire side stilled my forward progress. His face was so close I could smell the remnants of Doritos. Mate with the winning wolf, he informed me, voice level, and you’ll be taken care of.

My eyebrows rose. That was a turn I hadn’t expected. Is this your way of saying you find me attractive?

Jackal snorted a not-so-soft puff of air out his nostrils. No. This is my way of saying that I’m making you an offer that’s in both of our best interests....

His voice trailed off as his eyes lit on the side of the box I’d chosen. I’d grabbed the cheapest setup, the one intended for canines under thirty pounds. Which meant the tunnels would be too small for a full-grown wolf, even a female one.

My breath caught. Getting roped into a werewolf territorial battle was bad enough. If Jackal realized my true form....

Chest tightening, my lungs stuttered to a halt. Jackal’s smile widened, his eyes gleaming with predatory glee. You have a pup? I can be a stepdaddy.

Breath wheezed out and in again. He’d jumped to a conclusion that was both right and wrong. The box I’d chosen was for a pup, just not a wolf pup.

The beep of a scanner interrupted our fraught moment. We’d ended up in the checkout line and a human worker had come around to scan the box too large to fit on the conveyer belt.

Who’s paying? she asked, popping her gum.

Jackal tried to swipe his credit card, but I insisted on my independence. And he laughed like a hunter who knew his prey had no way out of a box canyon. A hunter who was ready to let that prey run just a little longer before he pounced.

I’ll be at the Arena tomorrow at high moon, he told me, then rephrased when my brows wrinkled in confusion. The time when the moon reaches its peak. Right now, that’s sunset. Either come as my mate or be prepared to lose your pup.

His threat was ominous both in tone and lack of details. No wonder my heart rate increased, instinct warning me to abandon the agility equipment and make a run for it.

But Jackal would simply follow my scent back to Kira if I didn’t accept his ride. And wouldn’t it be better to make him think I was obeying? Playing along should win me another twenty-four hours at least.

So I let him toss my purchase in the back of a jacked-up pickup. Let him drive me all the way to the front of the apartment complex where Kira and I lived.

Until tomorrow, he repeated as I slid out under the shadow of our shabby high-rise. The words were a warning. The eyes on the back of my neck as I manhandled the box down from the pickup raised warning hairs.

He didn’t follow me, though, as I laboriously bumped the box up the steep, dark stairs inside. And Kira, thankfully, was too gleeful over assembling her long-sought toy to notice my worry that evening. The next morning, she was too excited about running through the course for me to think she’d break her vow not to set foot outside the door.

So I headed to the school as usual even though my head spun with worries and possibilities. There had to be a way out of the trap Jackal had set for me, if only I could find it. I ushered kids through the local science museum, my thoughts on wolves instead of dinosaurs. And when my fencing students assembled in the gym after lunch, for once I was too frazzled to take attendance.

Because the conclusion I’d come to was as unsavory as it was inevitable. We’d have to flee. I’d pack up Kira and take her...somewhere. After that? Who knew.

Charlie was the one who broke into my planning by alerting me to an even more pressing problem. Charlie who, I noticed, was wearing the friendship bracelet her twin usually had wrapped around her wrist.

Ms. Atwood, can I talk to you? The girl was almost in tears, so I set the others on a series of drills that were unlikely to result in eyes getting jabbed out. Then I led Charlie over to the bleachers and sat us both down.

What’s up?

It’s Jessie.

I scanned the wannabe fencers, searching for the other Raven twin. Jessie wasn’t present. I frowned. Is she sick?

Charlie shook her head, wordless. And I put the pieces together.

The bracelet. You’re covering for her.

We’re in different morning classes, Charlie confirmed. I pretended to have a stomachache and asked to go to the nurse’s office. Then I apologized for being late when I showed up to Jessie’s class.

Where is she?

I somehow knew the answer even though Charlie was silent, eyes down as her toe traced the streak made by a skidding gym shoe. The scent of fur on my old t-shirt rose in my memory as if it had just been struck by the sun.

You can tell me, I prodded, using my gentle teacher voice this time.

Charlie swallowed, her eyes watery. Then she admitted, I haven’t seen Jessie since dinner yesterday. She’s been gone all night.

Chapter 6

I locked the students in the gym for their own safety and leaned my head against the cool metal of a locker in the hall. The main doors beckoned, my fox nature twitching at any delay in rescuing Jessie. But the students in the gym were also my responsibility. I’d need the help of an ally if I didn’t want my rescue mission to leave havoc behind.

Unfortunately, my only ally on campus was Tony. Tony, who I usually met in the staff room for a snack and grouse session during our shared planning period. Tony, who’d sent me a text to make sure I was okay after I stood him up this morning, a text to which I’d replied with a single word: Fine.

I’d been avoiding him all day so I wouldn’t have to say things that would risk our friendship. Unfortunately, making sure we were in different places at all times until Tony got over his ill-conceived crush was no longer going to work.

So I headed around the corner to his classroom, peering in the open door at a hive of enthusiastic activity. Tony was in his element, arms waving and students hanging on his every word, the hubbub reminding me why I’d initially befriended him. How could I not admire a teacher who drew youngsters toward the delights of the mind?

Hoping our fellowship could survive current events, I knocked on the side of the door jamb. Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?

Tony’s gaze rose to meet mine, his eyes squinting with pure pleasure. Sure. He murmured a bit more mathematical mumbo jumbo then came out to join me, pulling the door closed behind his back. What’s up?

There was no time for verbal foreplay so I launched right into it. Your aunt’s cabin. Is it available this weekend?

The cabin was the carrot Tony had been holding out in front of all of his students this summer. Up in the forest, with a big pond and trails and the promise of campfire stories. Anyone who behaved at least moderately well would be invited to take part in a big end-of-summer sleepover. Before I’d realized what was boiling up between us, I’d promised to be the female chaperone.

Now, the cabin was the safest place I could think of to stash Kira while I dealt with werewolves. Plus, Jessie’s parents could rest easy thinking their kids were on a school-approved field trip. Hopefully that would prevent them from calling the cops.

I didn’t say any of that, however. No wonder Tony’s eyebrows drew together. Sure. Do you and your sister want a weekend away?

I shook my head. No. I need you to take Charlie up there tonight, along with any other student available on short notice. Kira too. Don’t leave the property until I call.

I was already scribbling a note to my sister on the back of a receipt as I debriefed Tony and ran ahead in my mind to the tasks awaiting me. Find Jessie, deal with Jackal and the Arena fight, then go from there.

None of which I could do while herding youngsters. Speaking of which: I locked my class in the gym. Can you keep an eye on them until the end of the day? Maybe let everybody play volleyball while you call parents to expedite permission slips? Make sure the Ravens send two sleeping bags.

Their parents would assume the second was for Jessie, thus covering for the missing twin’s absence. Meanwhile, Kira would need bedding since we owned nothing portable. Two birds, one stone.

My feet itched to be gone, but I paused, meeting Tony’s eyes. He was usually malleable but now he frowned, shaking his head.

That won’t work. Issue one: short notice means most kids won’t be able to come on a trip I’ve been promising for weeks. Issue two: I can’t take a mixed-gender class on an overnight field trip without a female chaperone.

Really? The roadblock was school policy? Pretend I drove up early and came down with a stomach flu, I suggested. Is there a room with a door? Kira can check on me a few times. Bring ginger ale. It will work.

I expected Tony to say yes immediately. Sure, he’d be risking his job if anyone called his bluff. But he was always offering me rides and other favors. He’d left little doubt that if I needed a wingman he was ready and willing to be on call.

Now, he took a step toward me until we were just a little closer than was really appropriate for co-workers. And after this is over, you’ll tell me what’s going on? Over dinner?

I’d thought I could ignore Tony’s gentle flirtations until they subsided. That we could skirt an overt conversation that risked our friendship. Apparently, I’d been wrong about that.

But the safety of Kira and my students now trumped loss of friendship later. So—

Dinner, I promised. Tomorrow night.

Getting help from Tony had been easy enough, if I ignored the potential repercussions. Tracking down Shane and Jessie, on the other hand, required a trip to a shadier part of town.

In broad daylight, the outside of the Arena blended in with all of the other abandoned buildings in the Warren. The big, blocky structure had once been a factory, but the sign above the main door had faded so much that words were now impossible to make out.

Not that the Arena needed a sign. Locals knew to cluster around when the windows lit up like eyes glaring into the night. As soon as the doors opened, spectators streamed inside to fill the concentric rings of stadium-style seating, pressing close to the dented cage of a platform promising that the only thing produced here was fights.

Or that’s what the interior usually looked like. Today, the clang of metal on metal wasn’t swords but something different. Stepping through the front door, I found three burly bouncers unscrewing seats off the concrete floor then hauling them away to stack in a back room.

Meanwhile, their tiny, seventy-something boss pointed and ordered and ensured that no one even considered taking a break. Ma Scrubbs’ eyebrows shot up, however, when she saw me. Mai. Didn’t you get my message? Tonight I don’t need you. The idiot who rented us out has bad credit, so I made him pay double in cash. Your gain. Paid day off.

She started peeling bills off of a huge wad, pausing only to flick a middle finger at someone who’d huffed out a complaint behind her back. I didn’t blame the guy for his assertion of unfairness either. I was even less of an employee than he was and none of us merited vacation time. Plus, despite her name, I was no relation to the Arena’s boss.

But Ma Scrubbs knew how close my finances hovered on the edge of zero and she owed some sort of favor to my dead father. Dad had never spelled out the specifics, but he’d left me a list of people I could count on to help—once. Ma Scrubbs was at the top of that list, and I suspected Dad’s favor was the original reason she’d hired me on.

Dad’s favor was likely also the reason I was suddenly being graced with a paid vacation, one I couldn’t afford to turn down. Thanks, I said while the Arena’s owner continued peeling off twenties. But that’s not why I’m here.

The helper who’d complained now took advantage of Ma Scrubbs’ lack of attention to drop into a seat for a breather. The action had taken place outside her sight line, but somehow Ma Scrubbs knew what was happening anyway. Whirling, she pointed one bony finger at the errant employee. You! Did I say it was nap time?

Eyes in the back of her head, muttered a guy who was on his knees ratcheting big bolts out of the concrete. I warned you. Rather than replying, his friend shot out of the seat so fast it would have fallen over if the base hadn’t been attached to the floor.

I scratched my cheek in order to hide my smile. Ma Scrubbs was entirely human and had no supernatural eyesight or hearing, but she sure managed to give that impression. Mimicking her had turned into my MO on the first day of school every year. The result was startling. Students stepped into line so fast I was able to treat them gently for the rest of the term.

Ma Scrubbs, in contrast, never went from harsh to gentle. Now, she glared at the mutterer. Is there something you want to say to me?

The recipient of her glare weighed three times as much as his boss and had all of the extra weight in height and muscle. Still, he shook his head vigorously then returned his gaze to his task.

One long moment of silence followed, during which Ma Scrubbs stared and her employees worked faster than ever. Finally, she turned back to face me. As you can see, she snapped, I’m busy. Can your problem wait?

Despite the terseness of her words, she didn’t outright dismiss me. This is what my father’s favor did and I was loathe to lose it. Plus, I’d promised Dad that I wouldn’t call in Ma Scrubbs’ boon unless my sister or I was in imminent physical danger.

Still, my father had treated his students like family. He wouldn’t have hesitated to use whatever tool he had at his disposal to keep Jessie safe.

Or at least that’s what I chose to believe.

So I shook my head. No. I’m calling in my father’s favor. I need your help.

Chapter 7

For a moment, Ma Scrubbs’ face softened and she almost appeared grandmotherly. "Is your sister bleeding?